Control device for a coffee roaster

A roasting apparatus for roasting coffee beans and the like comprising:

• a container to hold the material to be roasted;
• a heater element to heat the material;
• a power source connected to said heater element;
• a blower device for circulating air within said container;
• and
• controlling means for controlling the rate at which said blower device operates to thereby control the rate at which air circulates within said container, said controlling means increasing the rate at which air is circulated by said blower device in response to an increase in said power source, and decreasing the rate at which air is circulated by said blower device in response to a decrease in said power source.

A roasting device apparatus for roasting coffee beans and the like comprising:

• a container to hold the material to be roasted;
• a heater element to heat the material;
• a power source connected to said heater element;
• a blower device for circulating air within said container;
• first controlling means for controlling the calorific value of said heater element to reduce the calorific value from a first positive value to a second positive value when the temperature within said container reaches a predetermined temperature;
• said first controlling means comprising a first resistor element of a first value, a second resistor element of a second value different than said first value and connecting means for connecting either said first resistor element or said second resistor element in series with said heater element such that the voltage applied to said heater element varies depending upon which of said resistors is connected by said connecting means, and further comprising
• a condensor connected in series with said first and second resistor elements, an alternating switching element connected in parallel across said condensor and said resistor elements and a trigger device connected between said condensor and said switching element such that said condensor will discharge during certain intervals and cause said trigger device to activate said alternating switching element which will produce a zero voltage level across said series combination of said resistor and said condensor to thereby increase the voltage across the heater element;
• and
• second controlling means for controlling the rate at which said blower device circulates air within said container,
• said second controlling means increasing the rate at which air is circulated by said blower device in response to an increase in the value of said power source, and decreasing the rate at which air is circulated by said blower device in response to a decrease in said power source.